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Resident Evil 2 Review
Noel Brady
00/12/0000
Finally Resident Evil makes it to the N64, but is it worth the wait?
You canât really write a Resident Evil 2 review without using the word âscaryâ. But we at TVG are never ones to shy away from a challenge, so starting from the end of this paragraph, weâre going to try. So then: Resident Evil 2 â“ itâs quite possibly the most scary game youâll ever play. Well, we lasted ten words without using it. Not bad.
After a veritable age, Resident Evil has finally made it from the PlayStation to the N64, and as youâd expect, itâs better than ever. Newcomers Angel Studios have managed to squeeze everything that was on the two-CD PS game onto the humongous, seam-splitting, 512Mbit cart, and then for good measure threw in a whole load more. Good on âem.
Resident Evil first appeared on the PlayStation, back in 1995, one of Capcomâs first games for Sonyâs new console. Following a group of young officers â“ the STARS team â“ exploring the laughably-named Umbrella Labs, supposedly the home of a sinister corporation, getting bumped off one by one. Having uncovered the sinister T-Virus, which turned ordinary humans into scary zombies, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine fought evil and generally had the life scared out of them.
And then promptly vanished. And this is where Resident Evil 2 steps in. The G-Virus, an updated, even more evil version, has been let loose in Raccoon City, home of the Umbrella Labs. Coincidentally, just as the virus is spreading, two newcomers arrive in town, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield â“ each with an agenda of their own. Just as quickly as they meet, however, theyâre separated, and thatâs where the game kicks in.
And the first thing youâll be doing when it does is dying. Repeatedly. Because, and letâs not tip-toe around the issue, Resident Evil 2 has one of THE worst control systems on the N64. The same as Resident Evil 1âs, invented before Mario 64 came along to revolutionise 3D control, requires you to press left/right to turn around ON THE SPOT, always using forward to run, regardless of the on-screen direction. And A to CLIMB STAIRS. Eh? Ridiculous. But with that out of the way, let us continue by telling you why Resident Evil 2 is greatâ¦
Like in the original game, there are two characters to control, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield. Leon is a rookie cop in Raccoon City, with Claire out to find her brother Chris, and both have a slightly separate path to the end. In classic stereotypical gaming fashion, Claireâs quest, featuring little kid Sherry Birkin, involves babysitting; whilst Leon, whose quest features the sultry Ada Wong, is mainly trying to get laid.
As the genre title suggests, the game is steadfastly based on shocks. And, boy howdy, does Resident Evil 2 know how to shock you. Throughout the game, which is mostly based around the Raccoon City police station â“ an impressively massive home oâ the fuzz â“ there is a constant sense of fear and foreboding, as you know a shock is coming soon, you just donât know when. Through the combination of timing, clever â“ and oft obscure â“ camera angles, and downright disgusting, slobbering creatures, this is a game that WILL make you jump.
Befitting its humongous cartridge status, the graphics â“ mostly done through pre-rendered backgrounds â“ are beautiful. The only thing that isnât pre-rendered are the characters themselves, and the hideous beasts they fight, though with the Expansion Pak in place, you can no longer see the difference. The FMV sequences, which are few and far between, have become small-screen and somewhat fuzzy in the translation, but theyâre so rarely used, and so ineffective when they are, youâre barely even notice.
Backing this up is a typically eerie music score, mostly nicked from films, and The speech sounds great, but the voice acting and dialogue are so poor â“ Leonâs response to seeing a dying, bleeding cop is a shoulder-shrugging "Oh, man!" â“ you wonât be overly impressed. However, there is plenty of it for every occasion, even if it sounds like the work of crappiest Hollywood leftovers.
With the game designed around the events of making you soil yourself, the actual bread and butter of the game takes a backseat to your heart attacks. In fact, the gameplay itself is very much âold schoolâ mechanics, of âfind this, take it hereâ. With the shocks and the story narrative so important, itâs only the occasionally frustrating puzzles that actually stand in your way. While it does give you a hefty amount of clues, when youâre stuck for where to find something, the game can get severely annoying.
You will however, get used to this. Youâll even managed, against all odds, to get used to the hair-tearing-inducing, god-awful control system. But youâll never get used to the fear induced by the gameâs hideous demons. And thatâs what makes Resident Evil 2 a great game. It is, to be certain, starting to show its age, and with Resident Evil 3 out on PlayStation, Resident Evil: Code Veronica coming to Dreamcast, and the N64-specific Resident Evil Zero coming soon, perhaps investing £55 â“ the ridiculously high price set by Virgin -- in this three-year-old game is a bit much to ask.
On top of this, the actual game is quite short. Youâll fly through Leonâs quest in no time, and while Claireâs quest, and the two bonus characters help extend it, you are constantly re-treading the same backgrounds. The designers have made a good stab at increasing the length, with some N64-specific hidden files and films, but even at 512Mbit, itâs only a fraction of the length of Zelda. But it is a totally unique gaming experience, on the N64 at least, and for that it is to be commended. If you enjoy demons, zombies and things that go bump in the night, buy this. If youâve got a hereditary heart condition or your wallet is feeling a bit stretchedâ¦probably best to stay away. Resident Evil 2, you seeâ¦itâs quite scary.
